Safety belts and combinations of such belts and anchors therefor



May 28, 1968 F. E. AIZLEY 3,385,633

SAFETY BELTS AND COMBINATIONS OF SUCH BELTS AND ANCHORS THEREFOROriginal Filed Nov. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

INVENTOR FRANK E. AIZLEY ATTORNEY May 28, 1968 F. E. AIZLEY SAFETY BELTSAND COMBINATIONS OF SUCH BELTS AND ANCHORS THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Original Filed Nov; 27, 1964 FIG. 9

FIGJI FIGJO I/VVE/VTOR FRANK E. AIZLEY ATTORN United States PatentOifice SAFETY BELTS AND COMBINATIONS OF SUCH BELTS AND ANCHORS THEREFORFrank E. Aizley, 334 Washington Ave.,

Chelsea, Mass. 02150 Continuation of application Ser. No. 414,214, Nov.27, 1964. This application Dec. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 605,937 3 Claims.(Cl. 297389) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Safety seat belt and anchormeans, the anchor means including a member extending transversely of avehicle seat adjacent its back and a second member adjacent the upperend of the back, the belt including a member attachable about the waistof a wearer and at least one shoulder retainer slidably attached to thesecond anchor member and connected to one of the other members, and arigid connection between the belt member and the first named anchormember and slidable relative to both of them.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 414,214,filed Nov. 27, 1964, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to safety belts and to combinations ofsuch belts and anchors therefor.

The most common examples of the use of safety belts are automobile andairplane seat belts. It is commonly recognized that the use of suchbelts is an effective means of reducing the severity of injuriesresulting from certain types of accidents. Their effectiveness depends,of course, on their being worn and one difliculty is that such belts sorestrict normal movements that people do not attach them or, if they do,soon detach them in order to enjoy freedom of movement unless hazardousconditions are particularly apparent.

The general objectives of the invention are best summarized as theprovision of safety belts, both with and without anchor combinations,that permit the wearer a suflicient amount of motion so as to make thewearing of a safety belt an acceptable practice.

In accordance with the invention, such a result is attained by providinga safety harness with seat belt member for attachment about a person, ananchor member attachable securely in a position adjacent the person witha member extending transversely of the seat adjacent its junction withthe back, and a rigid connection between the members and slidablerelative to both of them to a predetermined extent. Thus, a personwearing the belt member is free to turn and slide from side-to-side to alimited extent. A second anchor member extends transversely of the upperpart of the seat andthe harness includes at least one shoulder retainerslidably connected thereto to permit limited side-to-side movement ofthe upper part of the body of the wearer.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodimentsof the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a seat equipped with a safetybelt and anchor members in accordance with the invention, thecombination including shoulder straps,

FIGURE 2 is a similar view, on an increased scale with the belt memberand straps shown as positioned for use and with the seat shown only inbroken lines to enable other details to be illustrated,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the anchor member on afurther increase of scale,

3,385,633 Patented May 28, 1968 FIGURE 4 is a front perspective view ofanother embodiment of the invention, the combination being particularlyfor use by small children,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary and partly sectioned view of a belt member,

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view of the belt member,

FIGURE 7 is a like view of a modification of the invention,

FIGURE 8 is an end view of a folding automobile seat with a lock toprevent the folding thereof,

FIGURE 9 is a longitudinal section illustrating a modification of theinvention,

FIGURE 10 is a partly sectioned perspective view of the modification ofFIGURE 9, and

FIGURE 11 is a view, similar to FIGURE 4, but with the belt memberomitted, the anchor member including means for use if the seat is afolding one, to prevent its being independently folded.

Reference is first made to FIGURE 1 wherein there is shown an automobileseat 20 of the type having a fixed back 21. A transverse anchor member22 is shown at the junction of the seat and back where its presence willnot be noticeable to the seat occupants. The anchor member 22 is shownas having a pair of spaced, alined slots 23 and end flanges 24, andwhile the details of the seat construction are not important to thepresent invention, it includes a frame 25, see FIGURE 2, to which theanchor member 22 may be secured as by means presently to be described.

A safety belt is generally indicated at 26 and is shown as including inits rear part, a metal strip 27 having a longitudinal slot 28 backed bya plastic strip 29 and with marginal belt material 30 disposed over themargins of the strip 27 with the several belt components locked togetheras by rivets 31. By these or like means, a safety belt is provided witha lengthwise, outwardly opening channel generally indicated at 32extending around the back portion of the belt to a desired extent. Themetal strip 29 may be curved but it is preferably flexible.

Each safety belt 26 has a connector 33 shown as having heads 34 and 35,the head 34 being slidably held within the belt channel 32 and the head35 being slidably held by the anchor member 22 with the connector 33extending through an appropriate one of the slots 23. Wheredetachability of the belts from the anchor member 22 is wanted, theslots 23 of the anchor member 32 may each have enlargements 23A throughwhich the connector heads 33 may be freely entered or withdrawn.

By this construction, not only is the person free to turn relatively tothe anchor member to a predetermined extent with the belt 26 attachedbut also he may shift from side-to-side since the connector 33 isslidable throughout the full length of the slot, the slot length beingsuch as to prevent such lateral movements as might increase the risk ofbodily injury in the event of an accident.

A pair of U-shaped members 36 for each occupant fit over the upper endof the seat back 21 and these are interconnected by an anchor member 37shown as extending along the top of the seat back 21 and as having alengthwise slot 38. Each of the members is connected by a strap 39 to ahook 40 caught under the frame 25. One hook includes a stud 41 for entryinto a keyhole opening 42 with which each end of the anchor 22 isprovided thereby to secure it in place.

Shoulder straps 43 are anchored to the front part of the belt member 26,one on each side of its buckle 44, and their upper ends areinterconnected by a plate 45 carrying a connector 33A which may beidentical to the connector 33 but having a downwardly bent end. Eachstrap 43 includes a buckle 46 enabling its effective length to beadjusted to afford a desired amount of freedom of motion without loss ofsecurity.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIG- URE 4 isparticularly for use by small children. The belt member 26A may begenerally similar to the belt member 26 and is attached to a transverseanchor member 47 by a connector, not shown, but which may be of the sametype as the connector 32, the anchor member 47 having a slot 48 throughwhich the connector passes. The anchor member 47 is connected toU-shaped members 49 fitted over the upper part of the seat and in orderthat the position of the belt member 26A may be adjusted verticallyrelative thereto, the members 49 have vertical slots 50 through whichattaching rivets 51 extend, thereby providing a sliding attachment ofthe anchor member 47.

If the seat occupied by the child wearing the seat belt just describedis a folding seat, the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURE11 may be used which features the addition of a transverse rod 52anchored to the rear ends of the members 49 and including a telescopingpart 53 extendable to engage the rear of the drivers seat to be heldthereby against being folded independently thereof.

A folding seat may be provided with the lock illustrated by FIGURE 8.The seal lock therein shown includes a keeper 54 on the base 55 of theseat 20A and a bolt 56 slidable in a housing 57 on the frame 58 of theseat back 21A, the housing 57 being shown as having a bolt retractingspring 59 when the bolt handle 60 is swung to bring it into alinementwith the slot 61.

In FIGURES 9 and 10, a belt 62 is shown as passing between pairs ofrollers 63 vertically journalled in an open-ended housing 64 whose rearwall is provided with a connector arm 65 terminating in a head 66 forsliding entry in an anchor member slot. As the belt 62 passes freelybetween the pairs of rollers 63, the wearer may turn freely.

If desired, see FIGURE 7, the connection between a seat belt inaccordance with the invention and its anchor 4 may include a pair ofconnectors 33A each having a common head 34A and heads 35A.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention ensuressufficient ranges of freedom of motion to the wearer, by permittingturning movement, side-toside movement, or both, without loss ofprotection in the event of an accident.

I claim:

1. In combination and for use with a vehicle seat having a back, asafety harness including a belt member for attachment about the waist ofa person, anchor means to be anchored adjacent the seat and including atransverse member adjacent the junction of the seat and back, a rigidconnector attached to said anchor and belt members and slidable relativeto both members, second anchor means extending transversely of the backadjacent the upper end thereof, and said harness including at least oneshoulder retainer connected to one of said members and connected to saidsecond anchor means to slide lengthwise thereof.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the member to which the shoulderretainer is connected is the belt member.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the second anchor means extendstransversely of the upper end of the back.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,712,198 5/1929 Clapp 297-3872,695,052 11/1954 Yates et al. 297-387 2,725,853 12/1955 Nordheim 182-3X 2,726,714 12/1955 McAndrews 297387 2,833,343 5/1958 Benson 2973873,004,519 10/1961 Weissman 182-3 3,006,645 10/1961 Frazier 1823 XFOREIGN PATENTS 1,355,688 2/1964 France.

JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner.

